Mexican Grand Prix – In search of grip

Kimi and Sebastian’s first taste of the new track
Mexico City, 30 October – Formula 1 action officially returned to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez with the first free practice session. The new track surface was still damp from early morning rain, which made life difficult for the drivers, who started running on the Intermediate tyres, before switching to the Mediums. The entire field reported low grip conditions, with lap times a long way off those predicted by the simulator. Quickest was Max Verstappen (1.25.990) in the Toro Rosso, ahead of the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat (1.26.295.) Raikkonen (1.26.295) and Vettel (1.26.886) were third and fourth respectively for Ferrari, working on adapting to the new track and some aero comparison tests.